... and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water.

Awesome!

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The earth was formless and void, darkness was over the surface of the deep,

and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water. Genesis 1

... all the fountains of the great deep burst open

and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.

On the very same day Noah and the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth,

and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them,

entered the ark. Genesis 7

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,

and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night,

and made the sea dry land, so that the waters were divided.

The children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground,

and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Exodus 14

Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized,

immediately he went up from the water, and behold,

the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove

and coming to rest on him. Matthew 3

I want you to know, [our fathers] all passed through the sea,

and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,

and all ate the same supernatural food [and all drank water from the supernatural Rock

and the Rock was Christ,] 1 Corinthians 10

In patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark,

in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.

Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you. 1 Peter 3

Dear Cooper:

Yesterday we came to a crux of some of the thoughts I have been sharing with you. There are so many ideas about how we “should” perform a Baptism – what is the right way of doing it - what does it means and what happens. In Baptism we find a symphony of thoughts and ideas not easily summarized. That is why I gave you so much 'Bible' today ... it gives us so many images and ideas which we draw on as we ponder Baptism.

So how should we Baptize?

Here is a story. When I was quite little, my Grandma – your great-great Grandmother – bought two toy cars. One was red and one red-and-white. I really wanted the ‘white’ car, but Uncle Dan being oldest got first choice. He said he wanted the ‘red’ one and when Grandma started to hand him the ‘red’ one he said, “no, not that red one, that red one” and he took the red-and-white car. Frankly, I was pretty upset that I did not get the car I wanted! I’ll let it go at some point … maybe.

So, what is the point?

Well its this. Dan looked at the same car and for him the red bits really stood out, so he decided that that particular car was ‘red.’ For me, looking at the same car, the white bits defined the car and thus it was ‘white.’ Every illustration breaks down. But, here is a truth. Some people look at the Baptism bits of the Bible and can’t help but see being ‘identified’ with Jesus; living, dying, buried and resurrected with Him. We already said, those bits are very definitely in the Bible. Others, see God giving of Himself in pouring out the Holy Spirit and this mystery of what God is doing is awesome and it too is very definitely in the Bible. I told you already – the Bible clearly says Baptize but does not provide a clear instruction manual. So, people (trying to be obedient) have done what they ‘see’ revealed to them in the Bible. And there is so much to see that we should not be surprised, or upset when different people see different things a bit differently. But your are right; we still need to take care that we are hearing and seeing God.

As we talk about Baptism we must ask: are we seeing the whole thing, or just the bits or just a picture? Baptism is wonderful ...

I have to say this also. People I really admire and respect, and who have done awesome jobs teaching us how to read the Bible and helping us hear what God is saying have really disappointed me when it comes to Baptism. I don’t know why, but instead of focusing on what God is doing in Baptism, they go off and argue about the correctness of affusion or immersion. It all ends up feeling just wrong. We need to be careful.

Me, I think it is better in moments like this to ask: I wonder why God did it like this? Why not lay out the qualifications for Baptism? Why not give criteria? Why not write out the instructions? Maybe, if we think about it, Baptism means a little bit more. Maybe it is better to ponder the truth behind the water and see the majesty and glory of the One above the waters, whose Holy Spirit moved over the deep, who parted the waters and whose Word was spoken. Think on Him. Think about what He is up to, and thank Him for reaching out to you, claiming you and calling you His own.

As all creation sings, hear the symphony … not just the drip of water.

In Baptism we are identified with Jesus, the Holy Spirit is given and we are washed free of sin.

Those are the big ideas over the past few days. God does it, not me – and I am good with that.

t HE

Wednesday, January 11, 2017